Ever since Batman: Arkham Knight wrapped up, fans have been ravenous for confirmation on what the publisher’s next DC Universe game will be. We’ve had repeated rumors that Arkham series lead developer Rocksteady were turning their talents to Superman, but that was scotched earlier this week.
What we do know, though, is that there’s been a lot of rumbling that WB Montreal, developers of Arkham Origins, are returning to the Caped Crusader for another adventure. Now, a tweet from WB Montreal Assistant Producer Valerie Vezina might have given us a big clue as to what that adventure might be.
See for yourself below:
[Redacted], best. DevTeam. EVAR. pic.twitter.com/fUV8WCkDnI
— Valerie Vezina – valvez (@valvez) November 16, 2018
The logo on the back is a stylized owl that looks very close to the Court of Owls logo seen in the comics. Introduced in Batman Vol. 2 #3 in 2011 by Scott Snyder, they’re a secret organized crime group that’s operated in the shadows of Gotham since colonial times. They also have an ongoing owl gimmick, including capturing circus performers and converting them into deadly assassins that they refer to as Talons. While they’re inevitably in conflict with Batman due to their criminal enterprise, they also have another rivalry: to compete on who’s the superior legend of Gotham City – the Bat or the Owls.
They sound like a pretty damn good candidate to base a game around, having an inexhaustible supply of henchmen and minor villains for Batman to defeat as well as numerous secret bases for him to infiltrate. Plus, given that Arkham Knight comprehensively laid the Joker storyline to rest, it shifts focus away from villains that have been done to death in the Arkhamverse.
Perhaps the only wrinkle is when this game will take place in the continuity. It would be difficult to set it after the events of Arkham Knight as that game ends with Batman’s identity being made public and an apparently fear-gas based version taking to the rooftops. My suspicion is that they’ll fit this somewhere between Origins and Asylum, which would allow WB Montreal to continue carving out a space for stories taking place at the beginning of Batman‘s career.
In any case, it’s been a while since we’ve had any concrete announcements about these plans, so let’s hope we get something real soon.
